fraud scheme involving two baltimore area post offices. according to charging documents two post office managers cut checks to a landscaping company.. .for work that was never done... or inflated. the waverly post office station manager... richard wright and two others are arrested. the f-b-i...used phone, computer and bank records... along with a confidential source to find wright and kim parnell...the station manager at the pikesville post office. "can't really say i'm disappointed, but you hear a lot of this stuff going on so not really disappointed" wright, parnell and shane anderson are being investigated for bribery, mail and wire fraud and drug trafficking. if convicted they face a maximum of 15 years in prision. today, congress will work to restore military

death benefits to familes. payments have been frozen because of the shutdown. now... house appropriations committee chairman, hal rogers, says republicans are drafting legislation to get the money to families. fannie mae and freddie mac are relaxing rules... keeping banks from approving mortgages during the government shutdown. typically, fannie and freddie require lenders to verify a borrower's income with the i -r-s before closing. but last week, some lenders reported they could not approve the mortgages because the shutdown severely interrupted the i-r-s's operations. the mortgage giants say lenders could continue to issue new loans even without the i-r-s confirmation. borrowers who apply for mortgages will still need to sign an income verification request ... but verification can wait until after the government shutdown ends, and lenders can use other means to verify the income. today, president obama will nominate janet yellen to serve as the next chair of the federal reserve. if she is

confirmed by the senate, she will be the first woman to head the central bank in its 100-year history. she currently serves as fed vice chair rumor has it... "apple" is set to unveil a new i- pad as early as this month. a report by 'all things d,' says the company could debut an i-pad mini with retina display and a thinner full-sized i- pad as soon as october 22nd. apple's fancy new fingerprint technology might also make an appearance in the latest versions. since 2010, apple has been holding press events in october to get new products out in time for the holidays. this news comes as analysts predict that apple is running out of customers. analysts say the number of people buying an i-phone for the very first time is shrinking. they say unless the company signs with the worlds largest carrier- china mobile, or offers an i- phone priced for the developing world, it will not meet forecasts for 20-14 and 20-15. but despite the dwindling

numbers of first-time buyers, the number of people replacing their old i- phones is expected to increase. coming up on the early edition... baltimore's washington monument is crumbling. what is being done to save the landmark. ((break 1)) the pain started up the back of my head

and wrapped around to the front. i couldn't play my bassoon because of the pressure that i felt throughout my whole head. the blistering and the rash was moving down towards my eye. the doctors at the emergency room recommended

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coming up... the ravens take on aaron rodgers and the packers this sunday. how to they plan to stop him

from making plays. (guy with glasses) "i cant believe it is that old and im sure in 200 years it will still be here." a baltimore landmark... in need of a facelift. the high-cost of repairing the washington monument... and when the work is expected to be done. ((break 2)) ((break[ female announcer ] enjoying breakfast together is a pretty wonderful thing. but when you have a picky eater... won't touch this. it can be a bit of a dance. ♪ won't touch this.

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street. the address may not sound familiar... but you certainly know the location. it's the washington monument in baltimore.. and it's in major disrepair. but we had the rare opportunity to go inside and get a glimpse at the damage. because now the race is on.... to save this national treasure. kathleen cairns has today's cover story... preparing a monument for a bicentennial birthday. (violin nats) mt vernon... a cultural and historic district.... (violin nats) and at the center of it all: (lady in pink)"the washington monument" (guy with glasses) "its the george washington

monument.. everyone in baltimore knows it it is very historic." it was the first monument commenced for george washington in this country.... started...july 4 1815.... right after the war of 1812. (historian)"they were very proud when they laid the corner stone in 1815..they had a special role in winning the war and now they were dedicating this first...monument to washington it gave them a special privilege and honor.. to be doing this." historian lance humpries is now part of a crusade to restore the monument... crusade to restore the monument... it's at the city center: and in the mid 1800's, it was the place to go. the social hub. but now.. nearly 200 years later.. it's in dire need of repair. it's been closed since 2010. estimated repair costs... five million dollars. "its not going to collapse..tomorrow but it is just on this slow decline that every little bit of water makes it worse and worse and more expensive to fix ." (((---the stairs ----))) while it is too dangerous to allow daily visitors... "there's a brick core here under the stucco" dr humphries carefully begins the ascension..

(-nats-walking) 228 stairs... (-nats walking-) assessing the damage along the way. "the morter between the bricks.. is just kinda crumbling and its puddled up on these stairs.. like that." (footstep) at the top of the base: (door unlock) (opens door)"this is part of the original experience to be able to go out on this terrace." here... visitors could see the magnificent views... 360 degrees.... of urban landscape. but from here, the damaged marble.. is also more evidence. "once the mortar is gone from these locations then water as it comes over the top sneaks in there and continues to get into the center of building at thats what is causing the damage on the inside." residents recall when they could visit the site...decades ago. (lady in in pink)"ya have to go around and around and its really a small closure." the stairs are worn... the walls.. crumbling.... and the higher up... the more fragile.... the bricks and stone seem to be. (on stairs)"all of that needs to be patched and repaired so it is solid again you can see how much is just on the steps like that.. s stood herer just as manyd aga" me that has taken its toll. pile (motions)umbling.. this nes

de sol again" and urs the view.... nowch storic shington it wasnt st to him itso erything he and step outonto the very ." d it's agnificent iginal view the engineeng marvel. e p... weighs ute atherri. almost4 tons... irlooking up) "hes nument and outaching his hand" mmission as gngi ief.r in st....r view.." (cairns standup-u.oeous in basement- is on to iseow t race ey hope tocomplete the"so its an oject before oice)"we thinkh birthda d a sure in 200ars iwill stille in mt vernon in mt vernontiful" "its just beautiful"

the mount vernon place conservancy is the non-profit leading the effort to restore the monument.... they are still hoping to raise 5-million dollars before starting the renovations.... there is a link to their website on ours... fox baltimore dot com slash newslinks. coming up in our 6 o'clock hour... honoring slain teen trayvon martin... during "school spirit week." why several parents objected to the event... and what students at one pennsylvania high school will now be celebrating instead. the ravens re- sign veteran brandon stokeley. the injury he's working through... ahead of sunday's game. ((break 3))

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you could win a prize from fox45. every week we'll choose 12 finalists for you to vote on. here's one of our finalists... you can go to our facebook page and click on the "inside fox45" tab to vote for your favorite photo. one person a week will win a 25-dollar gift card from poor boys. go to facebook dot com slash fox baltimore to get started and read the official rules. coming up in our 6 o'clock hour... doing away... with a friendly gesture. why one school district has decided to ban athletes... from giving performing post-game handshakes. the n-f-l narrows down the list of cities... in the running to host the 2018 super bowl. the three locations... that still have a chance.

keep your kids healthy. when doctors now recommend your child gets the chicken pox vaccine. and... why this haunted house landed one maryland woman in court. wednesday october 9th they probably won't be

they probably won't be running... but plenty of maryland children will be walking and biking to school today. today is "walk to school" day. according to triple-a mid- atlantic... there are 62 events scheduled across the state in celebration. more than 3- thousand similar walking and biking events are expected to be held nationwide. drivers are beig cautioned to pay extra attention on their morning commutes.

first on fox... a maryland state trooper remains in critical condition this morning after being hit by a car on a traffic stop this weekend. paul gessler is live from shock trauma... where trooper jackie

kline's family talked to us exclusively. paul-- it has been four days since jackie kline was hit by a car on route 100 in pasadena. she was helping another trooper on a suspected d-u-i stop by catherine avenue. she is in critical condition here... with a serious head injury and broken arm... along with other injuries. she was flown here early sunday morning. doctors immediately ordered a cat scan to see the full extent of the head trauma. her family in new jersey was called. her father... is a trooper there with new jersey state police. her mother... spoke exclusively with our joy lepola yesterday. amy kline, mother of trooper: "from this point, it is we wait and see how jackie progresses and see what needs to be done. i don't think there's any option other than we're gonna wait here until she gets better and she leaves and everything gets back to normal." kline has been a